The multispectral imaging biometrics company, Lumidigm Inc., has announced a partnership with Innometriks Inc., biometric reader manufacturer and port solution provider. Innometriks, responding to Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) reader requirements, has integrated Lumidigm Venus fingerprint sensors into its TWIC readers.

The Innometriks reader combines the Lumidigm Venus fingerprint sensor along with a large 3.5-inch color LCD, an HID smartcard reader, and a vandal-proof keypad to provide an outdoor fingerprint biometric reader that works in all weather conditions. The Innometriks reader, relying on Lumidigm’s multispectral imaging technology to maintain high biometric performance in rugged environments, has been designed for installation outside in direct weather with no enclosure, covering or other protection. “I was amazed when I saw what the Lumidigm sensor could do. Its incredible performance is unfazed by water, dirt, dust, sunlight, hot and cold. We immediately went to work and adapted it to our biometric technology reader. The team at Lumidigm had done a great job preparing the product and within 72 hours we were up and running”, stated CTO of Innometriks, Robin Hamilton.

Because of the sensor’s superior performance in harsh environmental conditions, the Lumidigm sensor was chosen for the new Innometriks TWIC reader product line.

Vice President of Transaction Systems at Lumidigm, Bill Spence, said: “Our ruggedized sensors have developed a reputation for top performance in conditions that trip up other biometric products”.

The TWIC program, administered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and U.S. Coast Guard, will require port personnel and additional transportation workers to use a tamper-resistant biometric credential to gain authorized access to secured outdoor areas. Spence said: “With hundreds of thousands of biometric TWIC cards now issued, the need for a robust biometrically-enabled access reader to make use of them is obvious”. The private sector is also taking notice of this integrated solution because of the sizable commercial interface with the TWIC program. Spence said: “Government and commercial users need these biometric readers to work reliably regardless of the environment or size of the population”. “The Lumidigm technology coupled with the Innometriks reader finally gives them what they have been looking for.”